Dome Drive 2.0 - Phase One

Seeing as how I have this lovely new Base Plate... I decided to get to work on Dome Drive "2.0" - I'll be removing the 3.25" Dome Drive Wheel and replacing it with the A&A Geared Dome Ring.

Phase One was to "fix" the Rockler Bearing.

I decided to remove the sluggish greasy grindy loud steel ball bearings and replace them with Teflon coated White Delrin Acetal Resin Ball Bearings.

First I removed the Dome to get at and remove the Rockler Bearing.  Once on my bench, I first removed the small set screw on the side of the bearing.

Bearing Set Screw Removed

Holding the Bearing vertically (Careful! Bearings will start falling out of this hole!) over an empty container I began to spin the bearing and 153 greasy ball bearings spilled out... rather easily however.  You can see the screw here... I also made a small mark with a sharpie on the screw head so I could put it back exactly where it was.

153 Steel Ball Bearings

Once I had the ball bearings removed, the two halves came right apart.  the bearing was loaded with thick lubricating grease, which had to be removed.

I simply used paper towels to wipe the bearing clean. Once the grease was removed, I went ahead and cleaned the bearing with a light spray of WD-40 on a clean rag, making sure I had a nice smooth surface.

Grease Removed and Bearing Cleaned.

Once I had the bearing cleaned up, it was time to install the plastic ball bearings. These are  White Delrin Acetal Resin Ball Bearings in 5/16" diameter.  These come in packs of 100 so I went ahead and bought two so I was sure to have enough.

DuPont Teflon White Lithium Grease & Teflon Silicone Lubricant

First I coated the inner track of the bearing with Teflon White Lithium Grease. Not a lot... just a nice even layer... enough to coat the entire track.  Under the weight of a heavy wooden loaded Lazy Susan, lots of thick lubricating grease is fine... However the aluminum dome is not as heavy and rotation was actually impeded by the heavily greased ball bearings.

White Delrin ® Acetal Resin Balls, 5/16" Diameter

Next, I took 153 of the plastic ball bearings and placed them in a disposable Tupperware container and gave them a light bath in Teflon Silicone Lubricant.  I laid the Bearing flat on my bench, and carefully installed the plastic ball bearings back through the installation hole. Once I was done, I replaced the side screw and tested my new, "improved" Rockler Bearing.

The result?  A dramatic improvement, I have to say!  I'm super happy with the result... about a 400% improvement, by my super-scientific calculation... :oP ...and silky smooth!  R2's head has never spun better!  Not only is this a performance improvement but a fairly significant weight reduction as well...  the steel ball bearings weigh in at almost 1 pound (15.3 oz.) where the plastic bearings come in at a super-light 2.0 oz.!  More to follow...